Of Listening & Immigration: An Integration of Audio Analysis as Data for Latinx Populations

Abstract

This study considers sound as evidence for understanding the experiences of Latinx immigrant communities within the U.S. Specifically, I examine how field recording of communities in Queens, New York City can amplify our understanding of how sound influences identity, assimilation, and legal/structural violence. Secondly, I explore how sound in the media influences the portrayal of immigrant identities. By synthesizing previous methods of analysis surrounding immigration and sonic evidence with field recordings, I hope to add another layer of interpretation for the reader (listener). Using Rasquachismo and Sound Art theories, I suggest that audio recordings are important toward expanding collective understanding of Latinx communities. I use a combination of content analysis and field recording data to address how sonic information can build on previous epistemological practices for understanding daily lived experience within immigrant communities. By understanding the complexities of sound, one can gain an audible knowledge of the experiences, violences, and changes which contextualize the environments traversed by Latinx immigrants and mixed-status families. Through the interpretation of sonic materials, I hope to further understand the lives of Latinx communities within the U.S.